St. Louis Blues vs Buffalo Sabres - Odds and Predictions

Where: KeyBank Center – Buffalo, NY.

When: Tuesday, December 10, 7:30PM EST

How (TV/Radio): NBC Sports, Fox Sports Midwest | WFAN

St. Louis Blues (Away)

Head Coach: Craig Berube{All-Time 131-84-40 STL, PHI}

The Blues have recently found themselves riding a two-game losing streak. Luckily for them, they play strong on the road, going 10-3-3 away from St. Louis so far this season.

Offense

Even with top forward stars Vladimir Tarasenko and Alex Steen, the St. Louis Blues have still managed to score the ninth-most goals in the league this season with a combined 90.

The team doesn’t manage too many shots on net compared to other teams (they have the 12th-fewest shots on goal this season), but they make the few that they do take count.

The Blues have a shooting percentage this year of 10.5 percent – the seventh-best in the NHL.

The Blues also boast the NHL’s sixth-best power play with a 24.72 percent. They also have a significantly better faceoff percentage than Buffalo, having the league’s eighth-best 51.4 percent.

Defense

The Blues have been playing a very disciplined game and have always been considered a strong defensive team.

St. Louis averages just 6.9 penalty minutes per game and has the ninth-best penalty-killing unit in the league with an 84.15 percent.

The goaltending is also as strong as ever as the goaltending tandem in St. Louis has a combined .921 save percentage (fourth in the league) and two shutouts.

They have allowed the fifth-fewest goals against this season at 72 and they even have three shorthanded goals this year.

Goaltending

Last year’s Calder trophy contender Jordan Binnington is expected to be between the pipes for the Blues Tuesday night.

Binnington has gone 13-6-4 so far this season and has put together a .921 save percentage and 2.45 goals-against average. He has one shutout.

Head Coach: Ralph Krueger {All-Time 33-33-13 BUF, EDM}

The Buffalo Sabres are 8-3-3 at home this season and are coming off of a huge overtime win over the Edmonton Oilers.

They are 4-3-3 in their last ten and have moved into third place in the Atlantic division.

Offense

Team captain Jack Eichel has been on an absolute tear as of late. Eichel has 18 goals and 41 points in 31 games this season and now finds himself as the league’s seventh-highest scorer (11 points shy of Connor Mc David, if you were wondering).

The Sabres have a shooting advantage here but it’s subtle. They have more total shots than the Blues but the real advantage is by the game.

Buffalo averages more than 30 shots per game while the Blues are well under.

Their power play has held its own but will be challenged by St. Louis. Buffalo is only ranked 18th in the league with 16 power-play goals.

Their other, possibly largest, disadvantage comes in the faceoff circle and overall puck possession.

The Sabres have the league’s worst faceoff win percentage heading into Tuesday’s game with only a 46.1 percent success rate.

Defense

Special teams will continue to be a struggle on the defensive side of things as well for Buffalo.

They average more than eight penalty minutes per game and have the second-worst penalty-killing unit with only a 73.4 percent.

Shots against should be fairly even as these two teams rank 20th and 21st in the league for shots allowed.

These two similar goaltenders are sure to have quite the battle.

The Sabres have also allowed a combined ten goals more than the St. Louis Blues so far this season.

That being said, the team’s combined save percentage sits only .010 percent below that of the Blues.

Overall, the statistics on paper aren’t in Buffalo’s favor. But with the way they’ve been playing lately, a win over the Blues is not improbable.

Goaltending

Linus Ullmark is expected to be in the crease for the Sabres Tuesday night. Ullmarks has a season record of 8-6-2.

His goals-against average sits at 2.88 and he has a .914 save percentage. He, like Binnington, also has one shutout this season.

These teams have yet to meet this season and last faced off on March 17. It was the Sabres that came out victorious with a final score of 4-3.

Two points always matter for every team but this game would be huge for the Sabres.

Yes, the Blues need to snap this losing streak before it gets out of hand, but of the Sabres can manage back-to-back wins against the Oilers and the Blues, we may be able to say that the season’s worst is behind them.

Buffalo and Jack Eichel have what it takes to win hockey games. But they need to win these big ones if they hope to make the playoffs.

Questions to Answer

Both teams are without star players. How much of a role will these injuries play?

The Blues are without their biggest offensive threat in Vladimir Tarasenko and the Sabres are without their best defenseman, Rasmus Dahlin.

Although it may not seem like it, these two goaltenders are relatively evenly matched.

Binnington has played more games but Ullmark has what it takes to stop St. Louis’ offence. Which goalie will be the game-changer?

Will Buffalo captain Jack Eichel’s recent goal-scoring surge continue into Tuesday night?

St. Louis Blues Injury Report

F Alex Steen – DL (ankle)

F Vladimir Tarasenko – DL (shoulder)

F Oskar Sundqvist – DL (lower-body)

F Sammy Blais – DL (undisclosed)

F Zach Sanford – day-to-day (upper-body)

F Erik Foley – IR/NR (concussion)

Buffalo Sabres Injury Report

D Matt Hunwick – IR/NR (neck)

F Vladimir Sobotka – DL (knee)

F Tage Thompson – DL (upper-body)

D Rasmus Dahlin – DL (concussion)

St. Louis Blues vs Buffalo Sabres Odds

The latest odds for the Blues vs the Sabres are provided by bet365 NJ, SugarHouse NJ, and 888sport NJ.

Good Luck!

Money Line